บท 8: Hard to deal with
[Nea Alba. Dawn.
Kifestein. Outskirts]
A heavy sensation on my forehead woke me up. If I remember well, I was fighting something like a Dolon a while back. My condition was so bad that I couldn't even chant a spell properly and had to resort to a brutish fighting method. I was about to get hit when someone shot the Dolon...
I think I saw that person later. Yes, a black-haired boy, slightly taller than me. The boy had beautiful purple eyes; he was looking at me with a stressed face, maybe? He had a sweet voice.
An aromatic smell tickled my nose, and I opened my eyes. An ashen sky greeted me. A few bright stars persisted in the sky, giving it a dreamy look. If I shift my gaze lower, I would meet with the twilight of the still-rising sun, but the fluttering trees took my attention. The deep green of the leaves gave the scenery an odd depth. Dark clouds were inching over. I unintentionally smiled. Looks like it will rain soon.
"Are you awake now?" A smiling face and mystifying purple eyes. The black-coated man spoke to me in a sweet voice. A ladle in hand, he stirred a pot on a light fire. He is the man who saved me. Had the Dolon hit in the state I was in, I would've died. Regardless, stranger danger.
"Yes," I said as I moved to sit upright, "I take it you bought me here? Thanks for that."
"Don't mind. I fed you some medicine, but I don't think you should move around too much yet."
I brought a small amount of magical energy into my hands. His iris darted to the side as he stared right at my arm. Even during the battle, between his appearance and the Dolon's death, there were merely 30 seconds, yet this man somehow intercepted that. This person wasn't someone I could take lightly. He even gave off an odd feeling, or should I say, there's a lack of a certain feeling?
"I see I am in your debt. Can I ask you where we are?" I asked.
"Ah, outside Kifestein, about a day's walk away." The person waved his hand. "I didn't get your name, by the way."
"I am Nea, you?"
"Oh, you forgot." He held out a bowl of soup. It smelled alright. "Figures. It's Ivan."
"Hm? Did we already converse before?"
"It was before you fainted."
I nodded and maintained normalcy for now. We sat in silence under the ashen clouds while steadily sipping on the delicious soup. Ah, I should watch how much I eat.
"Are you headed to Kifestein, Miss?"
"Ah, yes. Call me Nea… You are going the same way?" I asked back. I guess he would now ask me to accompany him. I owe him at least that much.
"In that case, we should move together!" Ivan said.
"Hmm, Alright then, let's do that." It wouldn't take me a couple of hours to cover the distance back with magic, but I would move at his pace for now. This was also a good chance for me to observe him.
We finished the food and Ivan got up. With practiced movements, he fixed up the campsite. He filled his bag and put it on his horse. Ivan pulled the horse by its harness, and we left towards Kifestein.
"So, Ivan. What brings you to the city?" I asked.
"I'm an aspiring merchant. Starting small, but I'll work out."
"Well, you have a friendly nature." I tapped his back. "You'll make it, don't worry too much."
Ivan chuckled at my words and showed me a bright smile. "If a person as amazing as you say it, I have nothing to worry about!"
"Amazing? What makes you say that?"
"That Dolon is deader than my great aunt! What was it, if not amazing?"
"Huh, how'd your aunt die?"
"She slipped on a wet floor and fell face first in the fireplace when no one was home," he said and broke into a loud laugh. I suppressed a shudder as we continued onward. I guess there are people like this as well.
"Well, that said, Ivan," I said to change the topic. "Your reaction was very fast for a merchant, yes?"
"I guess it was!" Ivan smiled again. "Big fan of the questers, Miss Nea. I've read pages on pages about these beasts. I knew it was Dolon right when the ground started shaking!"
"Oh... Makes sense, I guess."
"Anyway, weren't you quite sick?..."
We kept moving while making small talk. Ivan was a fun person. Cynical but also quite humorous. I didn't feel he was someone I needed to be worried about, but his every movement felt oddly unnatural. Maybe he wasn't comfortable with strangers, but life is not that kind.
The dark clouds persisted in blocking the sun as it went down without doing its job. In some 6 to 7 hours, the grand walls of Zakall's biggest and richest city rolled into view.
When we reached the city gates, Ivan turned his head to talk to me, but I left using magic, without saying a word. I owed him, but accompanying him here was payback enough. He might've saved my life, but that's no reason to wag my tail at him. Anyone else in my place would think the same.
I wouldn't see this person again. That's what I thought.
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